Lithuania urged to transparently use EU's recovery funds

VILNIUS – Lithuania is being urged to publish information on the use of the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) funds, Transparency International Lithuania (TI Lithuania) has said. 

Lithuania's plan submitted to the European Commission lacks adequate accountability safeguards for spending EU funds, according to an analysis of 22 member states' national RFF plans carried out by Open Procurement EU Coalition, which brings together monitoring organizations from across Europe. 

Lithuania scored just one out of six possible points (16 percent out of 100) for its commitment to publish information on the implementation of the plan. The best-rated countries, Sweden and Romania, scored four points each. 

"This assessment and recent scandals over aid distribution are yet another reminder that we must make effort and agree right now how we will ensure that aid is used in a transparent and balanced manner," Sergejus Muravjovas, CEO of TI Lithuania CEO, a member of the coalition, said in a press release. 

"Lithuanian and EU support must be distributed according to the highest standards of transparency," he added.  

Seven countries – Austria, Croatia, Denmark, Germany, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia – scored zero points as they did not commit to any transparency in the spending of the funds. 

This is the first analysis by the coalition which aims to ensure that public procurement is fair, open and efficient. 

The RRF will make 672.5 billion euros available to EU member states, including 2.2 billion euros to Lithuania, to mitigate the economic and social impact of the coronavirus pandemic.